Tuesday, September 21, 2010

2. You can use straight planes, bent planes, curved planes (2D), and twisting planes (3d). You can use as many pieces as you want, but have to use at least 5 elements.

3. The first must represent and animal, the second a person in action, the third a monster or spaceship, and the fourth of your choice.

4. They dont all have to be connected, be conscious of the negative space, use a base if neccesary.
Remember the Sam and Josh show in class...When is negative space too much....when is it too little....

5. These should not be representational versions of your ideas chosen....The should capture the energy, the grace, and or the gesture... There should be a strong feeling of the object or action chosen. No representational details!!!

The first thing you should do is collect a bunch of interesting things. A toy-box of stuff that you can play with.
The stuff you find should reflect differences … in character and size. Flat and thin, flat and fat, fat and chunky, skinny and long. Big, medium, little (but not micro-scopic). The greater the variety, the more interesting the sketches will be.
You can’t have too much to choose from. You can have too few.
Lay the assortment out and look at the collection. If it’s all about one kind of thing (line for example), search around for some stuff to contrast the mix.
When you have an interesting bunch of stuff, pick out things that look strange together. Hold two of them up and position them to each other. Do they suggest some overall thing? Pick some other things and add them to the first two. Now, build an object with them. The overall object may look like what you initially wanted … or it may suggest something new. Go for it. This is sketching.Don’t design. Sketch knowing that when done it is far from a design.
Sketches should not look labored or finished. Nor should they collapse if jiggled. Use glue, tape, string, nails, screws … whatever, to hold them up the way you want them to be seen. Spend about 1/2 hour on a sketch. It should look alive.
The sketch should be interesting in the round. It shouldn’t read from one side. As you work on a sketch, turn it around so that you don’t have a favorite position.
The sketch shouldn’t be neutral … add up to a blob (basketball). Think giraffe … not koala bear.
Don’t fall in love with one idea … and then do assorted versions of that. Try to make your sketches as different from each other as the pieces and parts are.
The sketch is not about the things (or any one particular thing) that make it up. It is about the sum of the total. (link to original text: Lenny Bacich)

Each sketch will contain FIVE different elements – different in character (line/plane/volume) and different in size (dominant/sub-dominant/subordinate).

Forms should be contrasting (different) and complementary (harmonious).

Forms should be in obvious groups (3) and (2), but also read as a whole composition. The dominant
form and the sub-dominant form should be in separate groupings. Forms should alternate with each connection...... curvilinear + rectilinear + curvilinear + rectilinear + curvilinear or rectilinear + curvilinear + rectilinear + curvilinear + rectilinear

In putting them together, you want to physically and visually extend the direction of the first axial movement with the second axial movement – and the third extension should bring the design into a curious and self supporting state of dynamic balance. No right angles or parallel conditions.

Each sketch should support itself off a base: one form touching (supporting two in space); middle form touching (end forms in space); two end forms touching (the middle form in the air).

Axial movements should be oblique – not acute. They should shift direction less than 90 degrees. Tip the axes and the surfaces – don't open them like a book.

The second assignment asks you to join three curvilinear elements in a 3-dimensional movement that is asymmetrical, continuous in axial direction, and dynamically balanced.

The basic geometrical solids you will work with are:

SPHERE/HEMISPHERE
EGG
CYLINDER/DISC
CONE

Each sketch will contain three different elements – different in character (line/plane/volume) and different in size (dominant/sub-dominant/subordinate).

Forms should be contrasting (different) and complementary (harmonious).

In putting them together, you want to physically and visually extend the direction of the first axial movement with the second axial movement – and the third extension should bring the design into a curious and self supporting state of dynamic balance. No right angles or parallel conditions.

Each sketch should support itself off a base: one form touching (supporting two in space); middle form touching (end forms in space); two end forms touching (the middle form in the air).

Axial movements should be oblique – not acute. They should shift direction less than 90 degrees. Tip the axes and the surfaces – don't open them like a book.

The HW was to draw hands....Thats it...I always assign hand drawings in the first class before we dive into intensive perspective exercises for a few weeks..The hands are important.. I generally warm up the class with line weight exercises...I have a few rules...No rulers...Everyone stands and draws for three hours....Put your work on the wall......The focus was one point perspective...

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The first two exercises we will do this semester are designed to acquaint you with basic issues and terminology of visual abstraction. You will deal with them in virtually all the work you do in design. If these problems are familiar, good. You can set the example for the rest of the class. If it is all strange to you, don't worry. You will understand what we are doing as we go along.

PROBLEM # 1THREE RECTILINEAR SOLIDS
Create a composition of three rectilinear solids (one line, one plane, one volume), the axis of each moving perpendicular to the axis of the form it connects to. All three positions in space (height, width, and depth) should be shown. These are the XYZ AXES of three dimensional space.

Each form in the composition should be different from the other two. This CONTRAST AND VARIETY will set up a hierarchy of visual significance in the composition – one form will be DOMINANT, another SUB-DOMINANT, and the third will be SUBORDINATE. Different means not repeating dimensions – within a form, and between forms.

Using clay, chip board and dowel sticks, design six compositions – two where volume is dominant, two where plane is dominant, two where line is dominant. Vary the sub-dominant accordingly. i.e. – Line dominant (one study plane sub-dominant, the second study volume sub-dominant).

To connect the forms, pierce, penetrate or notch them. They must be physically connected to each other. Connections are always at right angles.

Avoid symmetry. We are exploring ASYMMETRIC BALANCE.

The three forms should describe a GROUP MOVEMENT. This will be achieved by leading the long axis of one form into the next shape, whose axis will lead to the third form. Only one form should touch the ground.

Your sketches (all sketching is three-dimensional unless otherwise indicated) should be neat and clean, and on small chip-board bases (approximately 4"x 4"). (Words taken from Lenny's Website)